Todd Howard Tempers Skyrim Expectations
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
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The only thing Oblivion improved from Morrowind were the graphics and the gameplay, and even that wasn't anything special.
To get past all of Oblivion's faults Bethesda will have to make more than just a leap, they need to make an entire space launch.
To get past all of Oblivion's faults Bethesda will have to make more than just a leap, they need to make an entire space launch.
If you really enjoyed Fallout 3, you'd probably like Morrowind as well, it's fairly similar atmosphere-wise, although if you're not used to games from that era the general clunkiness (gameplay mechanics, animation, menus...) might put you off.Sunrider84 said:
Actually, Daggerfall was considerably more complex/deep than Morrowind (more character creation options, more factions with better inter-faction reputation system, more spell-crafting/enchantment options, more items, far larger, more complex dungeons...), but what it had over Morrowind/Oblivion in depth, it lacked in not having a world that was utterly boring to explore, or one that didn't have a glitch of some sort every 10 minutes. Up until now, Bethesda have basically started over from the ground-up with each TES game, adding and removing things each time, but it sounds like this time they've kind of just built off of Oblivion's structure instead of knocking the whole thing over again.SirBryghtside said:
I like it when, in a game, I swing my giant battle axe at a mudcrab AND IT ACTUALLY HITS.ReiverCorrupter said:
I like it when guards can actually chase me into buildings.
I like it when I can actually tell when my arrows connect, you know, instead of just disappearing.
I don't like it when the same 3 noise keep playing in the background every three seconds.
This is only the beginning of a list, did you actually play Oblivion?
I still think that, overall, Morrowind is a better game than Oblivion. Sure, maybe it doesn't look as sexy as Oblivion, but a few mod patches will go a long way to fixing that. Plus I loved the exotic, slightly surreal setting of the game - Oblivion felt like they just copied the Lord of the Rings movies. Don't get me wrong, I love Lord of the Rings (both movies and novels) but it always kind of bugs me when fantasy game developers (or novelists for that matter) just try to make Lord of the Rings clones instead of coming up with something halfway original.
Anywho - I'm still looking forward to Skyrim. Maybe it's the whole Nordic setting, but I like the slightly Wagnerian atmosphere that comes across in the trailers I've seen.
Anywho - I'm still looking forward to Skyrim. Maybe it's the whole Nordic setting, but I like the slightly Wagnerian atmosphere that comes across in the trailers I've seen.
I think Howard has misunderstood 'better'. It doesn't solely relate to graphics.
I think Morrowind was arguably better than Oblivion, taken as a whole. I think Skyrim, if the improvements we've seen and been told about actually work will be far superior to Oblivion. It's where they've made changes that is more important, graphics look great anyway but they don't need to be.
I think Morrowind was arguably better than Oblivion, taken as a whole. I think Skyrim, if the improvements we've seen and been told about actually work will be far superior to Oblivion. It's where they've made changes that is more important, graphics look great anyway but they don't need to be.
Well, that's very civil of Mr. Howard. If Skyrim just used the Oblivion engine without any improvements to graphics and gameplay I would still have bought it. The fact that it doesn't only makes it better.
To be honest, I espect evolution rather than revolution from skyrim anyway. It was mere niggles in oblivion that stopped it from being my favourite game of all time. When you're already so close to perfection, why revolutionise when you could just make things a bit better?
Now, when you reach perfection...that's the time to think of something new.
Now, when you reach perfection...that's the time to think of something new.
I don't care how much less of a "leap" Skyrim is from Oblivion. Just give me better voice acting, shinier graphics, less bugs and some tighter combat and I'll be a very happy bunny!
Yes, I did. You realize that those are all results of general improvements in technology. They aren't deliberate improvements to the gameplay mechanics. The only one that comes close is the improvement to the Guard's AI.Hafrael said:
Improvements to graphics and physics engines are great, but they aren't a real improvement on a game's basic formula. You do that by adding weapons, or special attacks. They tried to do that with Oblivion, but it didn't come out very well because you had to move your entire character in a certain direction to perform them. I think the most notable change from Morrowind to Oblivion was the fact that your Magicka regenerated automatically in Oblivion. Constantly having to take a nap in Morrowind so you can cast another spell was just ridiculous.
What I'm referencing is the fact that they took out half of the content in Oblivion. It only had half of the quests, half of the spells, half of the weapon types, and they completely neutered enchantment and spell making. Did you actually play Morrowind?
They spent most of their time in Oblivion focusing on graphics so the content of the game was about half that of Morrowind. That's not a step forward for the game. At most, it's a step forward for the gaming industry because it affects the race for better graphics. But they didn't improve upon Morrowind's basic gameplay formula, they striped it down.
The things that are actual improvements in gameplay that I'm looking forward to in Skyrim are the Radiant AI system, the dragon shouts, the finisher moves, the improved effectiveness of long range weapons, stealth attacks, the new physical effects of fire, ice and lightning attacks, the "Rune" trap spells and the new crafting systems. Those are actual improvements to the basic gameplay formula. As far as I'm concerned all of those changes make Skyrim MORE of a step forward than Oblivion. Even if the graphical improvements aren't as radical.
I understand that we need to focus on graphics and physics engines right now because that's what people seem to want in their games. All I'm saying is that we shouldn't lie to ourselves and say that it's some sort of drastic improvement when they removed half of a games content to make it prettier. Actual gameplay isn't going to improve until we reach photo-realism and games start to be differentiated by their mechanics again because they all look the same.
Morrowind was slightly more buggy and a lot uglier than Oblivion, sure. But it was also longer and more fun.
I enjoy the story and atmosphere of Morrowind, but I just can't play it.ReiverCorrupter said:
The gameplay was shit.
If you actually payed attention in oblivion there was just as much there as there was in morrowind.